Nice Things
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Fly on the Wall Press
Publishing:2nd Dec '26
£11.99
This title is due to be published on 2nd December, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Stories examining class, race, gender, and sexuality through the lens of physical spaces and who is allowed to occupy them.
Stories traversing identity, sexuality, and human connection across the industrial towns and satellite villages of Northern England.
Stories traversing identity, sexuality, and human connection across the industrial towns and satellite villages of Northern England.
Opening with the Commonwealth Prize-winning "Lech, Prince, and the Nice Things," the collection weaves through teenage sexual awakening, family secrets, and post-pandemic isolation. Characters grapple with class divisions, discrimination, and desires they barely understand themselves. Unflinching and deeply human, these stories capture pivotal moments when lives quietly but irrevocably change course.
'Funny, odd, occasionally eerie and truly original. Rue Baldry is a wonderful conveyor of the weirdness of life as well as its gentler moments and revelations. It's exciting to come across someone who writes so boldly without ever losing sight of the small and telling detail. The title is an ironic nod to things that are not 'nice' but perhaps have the potential to be. I love the focus, too, on domestic grot, events that go pear-shaped, compromised relationships and the awkward trappings of everyday existence. I will be pressing this book into the hands of anyone looking for tales of the unsung, the under-acknowledged and those looking for the remarkable in ordinary things.' Ruth Thomas, Author of The Home Corner
'A quiver of razor-sharp stories, which reveal hidden tales of desire and rage.' - Ross Raisin, Author of 'A Hunger'
'A collection that's fresh, inventive, and constantly surprising. Baldry's striking imagery and well-observed characters will linger long in memory.' - Tracy Fahey, Author of 'Women Changing'
- Winner of Commonwealth European Short Story Prize, Regional Winner (Canada and Europe) 2023 (UK)
ISBN: 9781915789532
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown